Podcasts about great london smog

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. Earth Day is upon us in a few weeks, April 22, and what better time to explore literature that comments on the health of Mother Earth. This week we are talking eco-literature. Eco-literature engages readers on environmental concerns through the interactions between humans and the environment. And it encourages thought about our impact on the planet. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 2- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming 3- That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming 4- Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel 5- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel 6- Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul - A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Kristin @paws.read.repeat 7- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver 8- Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman 9- Dune by Frank Herbert 10- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan 11- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philips 12- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel 13- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom 14- State of Wonder by Ann Patchet 15- What Blooms From Dust by James Markert 16- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 17- Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh 18- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin 19- Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 20- Hoot by Carl Hiassen Links to articles we reference: Library Book Returned After 102 Years https://people.com/family-returns-pair-of-books-100-years-overdue-to-kentucky-library-8621113#:~:text=A%20family%20returned%20a%20pair,Matthews%20branch%20on%20Monday. Wishtree censorship— https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/94637-in-virginia-censors-attempt-to-axe-wishtree.html Sting Ray article— https://www.npr.org/2024/03/07/1236678538/stingray-pregnant-charlotte-aquarium-mystery-north-carolina Bringing Back the Wooly Mammoth https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/06/1235944741/resurrecting-woolly-mammoth-extinction

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. Earth Day is upon us in a few weeks, April 22, and what better time to explore literature that comments on the health of Mother Earth. This week we are talking eco-literature. Eco-literature engages readers on environmental concerns through the interactions between humans and the environment. And it encourages thought about our impact on the planet. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 2- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming 3- That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming 4- Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel 5- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel 6- Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul - A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Kristin M. @paws.read.repeat 7- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver 8- Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman 9- Dune by Frank Herbert 10- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan 11- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philips 12- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel 13- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom 14- State of Wonder by Ann Patchet 15- What Blooms From Dust by James Markert 16- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 17- Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh 18- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin 19- Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 20- Hoot by Carl Hiassen Links to articles we reference: Library Book Returned After 102 Years people.com/family-returns-pair…ranch%20on%20Monday. Wishtree censorship— www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/…ishtree.html Sting Ray article— www.npr.org/2024/03/07/12366785…tery-north-carolina Bringing Back the Wooly Mammoth www.npr.org/sections/health-sho…-mammoth-extinction        

In September 1952 the world and London were still excited by the Coronation of a the new young Queen, but in London that September a strange but thick smog hung over the capital! Why and how was it caused? What were its effects? We'll find out in this podcast....

Many died and many more suffered respiratory problems --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rocky-seale7/message

Send us a Text Message.For this special episode, Dr Ian Mudway, Visiting Professor of Environmental Health, is joined by friend and comedian Ria Lina as a guest host to discuss the current state of air pollution in London and across the World.This podcast followed his lecture ‘London's Air: The 70th Anniversary of the Great London Smog' which was given on 5 December 2022.You can find more information about his lecture and others in his series here: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/environmental-healthSupport the Show.

This week we’re delving deep into our collective anxieties, discussing a fog that killed a GRIP of people in London, and the many things about living in our bodies on planet Earth that are actually casually terrifying. Highlights: [0:00] CoRri tells Mark about London’s Great Smog of 1952[28:00] Shooting of the shit occurs[42:03] It’s time to shout out our Ko-fi subscribers! You can get a shout out too by doing the right thing at http://www.ko-fi.com/jackofallgraves[61:00]What we watched! (Poker Face, The Whale, Claw, National Treasure, Cat’s Eye, Evil Dead 2, Time After Time, Baskin)[80:20] Mark brings up the many ways in which life is just casually terrifying Stuff we referenced: Fear of political embarrassment led to government cover up of link between air Great Smog of London The Great Smog of 1952 Met Office: The Great Smog of 1952 The Great Smog of London woke the world to the dangers of coal Reflecting On The 1952 Great Smog of London and Its Legacy Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City Solar ‘superstorm’ missed Earth in 2012 — but another could strike

On the 5th of December 1952 London experienced a major pollution episode, the Great Smog, resulting in thousands of deaths throughout the city.On the 70th anniversary of this event, the lecturer will review how air pollution has changed in the intervening period, the evidence that it is still having profound effects on our health and the effectiveness of measures to ensure clean air and better public health.A lecture by Ian MudwayThe transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/londons-airGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

This 2014 episode covers why when the Great London Smog descended in December of 1952, nobody initially realized anything unusual was going on. At its largest, it extended 30 kilometers around London, and it killed thousands of people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've talked about many books on this podcast with an Appalachian setting. And in the Trump and post-Trump era, talking heads have been trying to understand Appalachia. After the publishing of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, a book about Appalachia that many people love to hate, a whole slew of books by diverse Appalachian writers came out that showed other versions of this complicated region of the country. Neema Avashia's new book of essays, Another Appalachia: Growing Up Indian and Queer in a Mountain Place really demonstrates those contradictions and strong sense of place. Neema is a middle school teacher who lives in Boston, but she grew up in a small West Virginia town that was built up around the chemical industry that used the state's coal to power its plants. Her parents migrated from India and Neema had what she felt was a magical childhood. But as much as she loved her hometown and home state, as she became an adult she had to to come to terms with what home means when you are Indian-American, Hindu, vegetarian, and queer growing up in a place that is overwhelming white, meat and potatoes, and Christian. Her essays ask interesting questions about what it means to love a place that doesn't always love you back. You can find Neema on instagram at @avashia and at her author website www.neemaavashia.com. Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia 2- The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa 3- Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop 4- Death in the Air: The Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 5- Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson Articles mentioned-- What Does the Image of the Cat Signify in Japanese Literature? by Dee Das bookriot.com/cats-in-japanese-fiction/

We've talked about many books on this podcast with an Appalachian setting. And in the Trump and post-Trump era, talking heads have been trying to understand Appalachia. After the publishing of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, a book about Appalachia that many people love to hate, a whole slew of books by diverse Appalachian writers came out that showed other versions of this complicated region of the country. Neema Avashia's new book of essays, Another Appalachia: Growing Up Indian and Queer in a Mountain Place really demonstrates those contradictions and strong sense of place. Neema is a middle school teacher who lives in Boston, but she grew up in a small West Virginia town that was built up around the chemical industry that used the state's coal to power its plants. Her parents migrated from India and Neema had what she felt was a magical childhood. But as much as she loved her hometown and home state, as she became an adult she had to to come to terms with what home means when you are Indian-American, Hindu, vegetarian, and queer growing up in a place that is overwhelming white, meat and potatoes, and Christian. Her essays ask interesting questions about what it means to love a place that doesn't always love you back. You can find Neema on instagram at @avashia and at her author website www.neemaavashia.com. Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia 2- The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa 3- Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop 4- Death in the Air: The Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 5- Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson Articles mentioned-- What Does the Image of the Cat Signify in Japanese Literature? by Dee Das https://bookriot.com/cats-in-japanese-fiction/

A crisp and clear morning rose over, the British capitol of, London, on December 5, 1952. They had endured weeks of chilly and overcast days in a mid-season wintery cold-snap but all of that was soon to change as the city was darkened by a deadly smog.

Hello all and welcome to allergy season in Indiana! We try to keep the sniffles and throat clearing to a minimum, so please forgive us - the pollen is out of hand! This week, Taylor finishes her story of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas by talking about the standoff between the Branch Davidians and the FBI and ATF. Then Jenni takes us to London to talk about the grim details of the Great London Smog. Help support the podcast by shopping at WickedCatClothing.com - A Little Bit Grim listeners get 30% off their order by using code GRIM30 at checkout Podcast Spotlight: Aloring The Socials Official Website Merch Store Twitter Instagram Facebook Group

This week we celebrate seasonal slaying, come to grips with a British serial strangler, & talk grief and grandparents as we review Justin G. Dyck's, Anything for Jackson. Want even more? Join the Frightday Society, at http://society.frightday.com You'll have access to all Screamium content (Behind the Screams, It's Been a Weird Week, A Conversation With..., Toast to Toast PM with Wine Kelly, Cinema Autopsy, the Writers' Room, bonus episodes of Captain Kelly's Cryptids & Conspiracies, Byron's Serial Corner, and so much more!  You'll also be part of our interactive community dedicated to the advancement of horror, hauntings, cryptids, conspiracies, aliens, and true crime. All things frightening.  Keep our mini-fridges full of blood...I mean...not blood...normal things that people drink...by going to http://shop.frightday.com Theme music by Cemeteries Produced by Byron McKoy Follow us in the shadows at the following places: @byronmckoy @samfrightday @kellyfrightday @frightday http://frightday.com http://facebook.com/groups/frightday http://instagram.com/frightday http://facebook.com/ffrightdayy   John Christie Transcript: -December, 1939 In the days approaching christmas, as a bitter cold whispered outside ,a family sat around the breakfast table. Bacon, scrambled eggs, toast. The father sat hunched over the day’s newspaper, filling out a puzzle. Mother at the stove, stirring eggs in a pan. A quiet lull in conversation was shattered with a question. Something that’s on the minds of most kids during this time of year, even today! ...Christmas presents.   “Hey, Dad. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what I got you for Christmas”. The old man, breaking his gaze, cocked his head back, towards the ceiling with a look of desperation on his face, “A new furnace”. An ironic wisecrack that was well received by the room due to his reputation for being one of the most feared furnace-fighters in Northern Indiana. With only mere minutes left before being forced to leave the table for school, the oldest son, on tenterhooks about what he would say next, could feel the Christmas noose beginning to tighten. A question that both excited and terrified him was shot in his direction. “What would you like for Christmas?” -Now...what he said in response certainly wasn’t important. The request was met with reasonable resistance, you may hurt yourself, or something like that. And although slightly more somber, breakfast continued, and the old man went out to start the family car. An Oldsmobile. But something was wrong...during the night, the vehicle had frozen up.  While filling up a large pot with warm water, the father turned, and shushed his family. Beyond the quiet sounds of a radio, he heard something. It was coming from the basement… A vent whose purpose is to provide invisible comfort and warmth, was emitting something much uglier. A cloud of black smoke creeped in, like an unwanted guest, as the sounds downstair grew louder. ”It’s a clinker!” The father grabbed his gloves, and stepped into the basement, a black cloud welcoming him, patting his back on the way down.  13 years after the fictionalized events that i’ve just described, based on the semi-autobiographical accounts of Jean Shepherd originally published in Playboy magazine in the mid-1960’s, made famous by the Bob Clark holiday classic , ”A Christmas Story, and almost 4000 miles away, on the other side of the pond, a string of unfortunate events would transpire over five days in December, 1952 -that when dissipated, would leave between 10,000 and 12,000 residents dead -100,000 more sick   -Citizens strangled by the exhaust of poor fuel meant to keep them warm -capped by a weather anomaly  -which filled the city faster than A Christmas Story kitchen.   -And surviving inside this tragedy, a soft spoken, tall, thin, pathetic man  -who had been luring women into his home under the guise of assistance -had been doing some strangling of his own..   -and it’s at this point i’d like to recognize my sources  -and tell y’all...I fucked up. -For a while now, i’ve been wanting to read Kate Winkler Dawson’s book -”Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City” -that the New York Times calls “Deeply researched and densely atmospheric -I did read that book, and it do agree.    -and although a little tedious in it’s structure, i enjoyed it quite a bit. -The author does a wonderful job painting a picture of London -just on the heels of the 2nd world war   -what it was like to be a first responder during this killer fog. -police desperately trying to keep up with transportation accidents -and crime under the cover poisonous clouds -doctors blindly shuffling door to door -overwhelmed hospitals, packing in patients   -accounts of people, stuck inside their homes -family members struggling to breathe -doctors saying “this person needs to be hospitalized” -but there are no beds left -and even so, there’s no way to transport them -HOWEVER...It’s that deeply researched part that posed a problem. -I didn’t expect to learn so much about coal...and parliament...regulation… -All very interesting content, and I will share a little bit about what I learned -but this is supposed to be a one part episode for Christmas. -Over the last two weeks, I could have booked us up for over a month.    -There was even a point where I was gonna take a detour and talk about why freakin Santa gives nautghy folks coal.  -which led me to La Befana, an italian witch  -as well as Sinterklaas’s assistant in German and Dutch folklore, Zwarte Piet (Zwar-tah, Pete) -or “Black Pete -an extremely controversial “boogyman” figure that in recent years has caused quite a stir -after neo-nazi groups have started violently defending their “right” to dawn the traditional costume of -red lips, curly black wigs, blackened faces, and a ministerial-like costume… -We’ll save that for next year   -But of course...this is Byron’s serial corner.  -and although this particular fog did kill thousands...if you think about it… -it’s really more of a spree killer…   -SO...with all that said...the focus of my report tonight will be on the life, and deaths attributed to a real pitiful piece of shit named John Reginald Halliday Christie     -and  -Kelly, I hate to give you the collywobbles right before Christmas -who am I kidding, I love it   -but as an apology, I will remind and allow you to use British phrases like, bollocks, wanker -and even the Frightday Classic, “Bob’s Your Uncle”, whenever you feel necessary  -Merry Christmas  -John Reginald Christie  -Know to most as “Reg” -came into this world on April 8th, 1899 -near Hallifax, in Northern England -to Mary Hannah & Ernest Christie -He was raised with 5 sisters and one brother, in a working-class household.    -Mary was a sweet woman, -however, her husband was not. -He was cold, strict, quiet, and although he didn’t drink -rare within my research  -he was prone to physical and verbal abuse.    -Every Sunday he would march his family 5 miles to church -and i do mean march. Shoulders back, and arms swinging    -Reg respected his father, but feared him.  -One story in Death in the Air recalls a story shared about a beating received after being accused of stealing tomatos (which he didn’t even like) -Once his mother convinced Ernest otherwise, Reg was telling the truth, he was given a shilling for his trauma.   -When Reg turned 8, his Grandfather David Halliday passed away -While seeing the body laid out in preparation for the funeral, he became captivated.  -A once powerful man has seemingly lost that appearance -Now nothing more than a body -This experience changed him forever. -he later recalled “You would expect that for a little boy this would be a terrible experience. For me it was not. I was not frightened, worried, or perturbed in the slightest. I looked at the corpse with a strange pleasant thrill”   -At age 11, he was granted a scholarship to Halifax Secondary School, -He was a bright kid that excelled in math. -A very detailed student.  -the kind of person that tinkered with clocks for fun... -It was later determined that he had an IQ of 128.    -which led me down a road, and I’m sorry for a tangent this early -the average IQ is between 90 and 110 -I had always assumed that the more prolific serial killers would have a high IQ -but in my digging...it’s really all over the board…   ON THE HIGH END -not a surprise -Ted Kaczynski  167 -Andrew Cunnan 147 -Ed Kemper 145 -Dahmer 145 -Bundy 136   HIGHISH -Gacy 118 -Kenneth Bianchi 116 -David Berkowitz 115   BUT, a majority of serial killers have an IQ in the 90s or below. -Henry Lee Lucas was a dumb dumb (89) -Robert Pickton was a dumb dumb (86) -Gary Ridgeway (which surprises me) not smart (82) -Otis Toole (no surprise here) double dumb (75)   -and the way killers kill, actually says a lot about how smart they are -on average (and keep in mind, there’s not a lot of data here, so it feels a little skewed) -but bombers have the highest IQs -followed by stranglers assisted by guns or bludgeoning instruments   -poisoners  -solo strangulation -stabbers -Shooters -strangle assisted by stabbing  -and at the bottom, with IQs in the 80s and 70s  -are all variations of bludgeoning -which makes sense, i suppose....   -Anyway, this smart little boy proved himself a skilled athlete,  -was a boy scout, even an assistant scout leader eventually.  -but was nervous, and awkward, even from an early age. -he was scared of the dark -and even as an adult, was easily spooked...frequently from bad dreams -which gives me great joy -y’all need to see a picture of this dork in the show notes of this episode at frightday.com   -After leaving school on 22 April 1913, he began a job as an assistant projectionist. -a profession for artistic cool people, or creeps -and i did forget to mention Reg loved photography  -It’s an odd venn diagram….   -Reg’s coming-of-age didn’t go great.  -His thoughts on sex and violance were already getting jumbled up -Being raised in such a strict religious home, with a majority of women around,  -he denied ever engaging in “the sin of self-pleasure”,  -but claimed he caught a brief glimpse of his sister’s stocking top, and this thrill, brought about “strange feelings”.   -However, much like many serial killers, this crossing of wires causes “issues” with physical intimacy.  -One day, 16 year old Reg and two of his blokes went to a place known as “Monkey Run”.  -a lover’s lane of sorts in Savile Park.  -The boys paired up with some girls, and went down the lane to “love”. -Still a virgin, Reg was with someone he later described as “a mill girl of loose morals” -While his friends successfully scored, he struggled... -trembling with his limp penis in his hand as the girl mocked him.   -Reg’s account was a little different “I remember that we kissed and cuddled, but i heard later she told my friends i was “slow””   -A week later, the same girl slept with his friend, and she very publicly compared the two…   -A school word spread, giving him the nickname “Can’t do it Christie” and “Reggie No-Cock” -which a later autopsy would confirm...his dick was fine. Normal size.    -”All my life since I have had this fear of appearing ridiculous as a lover” he would later admit -This is where his need to be in complete control during sex started. -It’s also at this time he became increasingly hypochondriac, prone to hysteria, -we’ll talk more about that soon.   -Still, he would spend his cree time hanging out at pubs. -even through he never drank -Only talking to women. -He was playing the part of a good moral young man, while secretly obsessing over sex and death.    -On September 19th, 1916, two years into World War 1 -originally know as World War -Reg enlisted in 52nd Nottingham & Derbyshire Signal Corp -he was a signalman.  -During his 16 months of service, he was reprimanded twice for sneaking off-base to find sex-workers. -this would become a habit for Reg, as he could usually pay enough for them to do whatever he asked.   -But he saw more than just woman. This was the time of trench warfare, and he was in the thick of it.  -Shells exploding all around him.  -bodies of his buddies rotting around him.  -On June 28th, 1918 -A mustard gas shell exploded near him, knocking him unconscious as the gas crept around him.  -somehow he survived, but he was not alright.    -The gas left him blind for five months, and unable to speak for over three years,  -leaving him with a permanent, soft, whiney voice.  -...or so HE says. -Military medical records state that he had no major symptoms of exposure (blisters on skin or in throat or lungs) -and had no injury to his eyes. -He was diagnosed with Functional aphonia (acute voice loss) -but it wasn’t from the gas...it was from fright -He was hospitalized for 32 days, and treated for laryngitis...then told to go home.   -and on October 22nd, 1919, he did.  -where he quickly got a job at Sutcliffe’s Woolen Mill so he could pay for more sex-workers.  -However, soon found real love or something like that in a woman named Ethel Simpson. -The daughter of a rug designer...I believe. -i wrote this part at 1am, and couldn’t find where i read that. -By all accounts she seemed to be a good woman, from a good family.   -The two married on May 10th, 1920, just months after meeting. -But married life didn’t come naturally to Reg.  -not much did -His visits with sex-workers continued and escolated  -he was unable to get pregnant with Ethel -and disappointing his parents with his failings, he was disowned -They separated after four years, when Christie moved to London and Ethel lived with relatives. -but reconciliation was not far out.    -I’m gonna yadda, yadda some of the next ten-ish years of his life -not to minimize his crimes, but because I would rather focus on the lives of the people he eventually took.  -As a quick summary, over the next decade, Reg would be in and out of prison for  -3 months for stealing packages while he was a mailman -9 months for theft -6 months hard labor for assaulting a prostitute -he hit her over the head with a cricket bat -blood everywhere, he shoved his fingers down her throat when she screamed for help -it was awful -There were other assaults he was suspected of, but never charged for   -he was however given 3 months for stealing a laurie -did you forget about the slang offer, kelly?  -that’s a car.   -While inside, Reg met a priest who convinced him to change his ways.  Which of course he didn’t -This is when he asked for Ethel back.  -and since she very much still loved him, she moved to London to be with him.  -They soon remarried, and in December of 1938, the couple moved into a small, ground floor flat,  -at an address soon to be infamous -10 Rillington Place in the Ladbroke Grove neighbourhood of Notting Hill -A cheaply constructed three-story brick building in a low income area -the train was so close to the building it was “deafening”    -Obviously not cut out for war. when WWII did happen,  -Reg did a good job of playing the part of a good citizen, joining the Police Force -as a volunteer war reserve officer -The power and control over people was exhilarating   -He would follow women and take notes.  -spy on neighbors -he became almost fanatical about upholding the law,  -and he eventually got the nickname, "the Himmler of Rillington Place."    -Reg was there for a while -but he resigned in 1943 after the affair he was having with co-worker was interrupted by her real soldier husband, who beat him up.    -Ya see, his bad behavior never stopped.  -right after he got out of prison the last time, he went right back to visiting sex-workers -escalating his fantasies, more and more violent and disgusting    -His hypochondria had progressed as well   -Sometime in 1938, Reg was hit by a car while riding his bike -As if he wasn’t already primed to be a serial killer, he injured his head -among other things.   -This impacted his life significantly, leaving him more concerned about his health -not leaving the house as often.  -His ailments would become more clear in the subsequent years.  -Fibromyalgia, headaches, hemorrhoids, and nervous diarrhea -As things progressed, he would claim to be unable to lay down for extended periods of time -a combination of enteritis, and extreme back pain would leave him unable to bend at the waist -do anything at all really. -or so he claimed… -and this is where I wanna say, I know many folks out there are struggling with invisible illnesses -I don’t really even want to speculate further with what Reg Christie did have -but I do wanna make fun of his diarrhea -and whether or not he was actually sick -I am glad he was in pain, because of the awful things he did later.    -Between 1937 and 1952, Reg Christie made 174 visits to a man named Dr Matthew Odess -one of my favorite stories of his ailments was when he approached Odess with a particularly bad case of enteritis… -The Doctor recommended a starvation diet of only milk, toast, and barley water. ...so lactose, gluten, and more grain? -Back home his sweet wife had prepared him a big glass of barley water -but slipped, and spilt it all over him.  -wet, in pain, and starving    -That night however...while lying in bed, the couple heard a loud thud from the flat above them. -something like a flour sack hitting the floor.  -They got our of bed, and went to the window.  -silence. then more moving -It sounded like moving heavy furniture... -at least...that’s what they would soon tell the police.    -In April of 1948, Timothy Evans and his then pregnant wife, Beryl, moved into the top-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place -6 months later, they gave birth to a daughter, Geraldine.    -Tim was a working-class guy. A van driver for a food company.  -Not terribly smart. -Due to health problems as a child, he missed much school,  -and would go on to say he couldn’t write, or read beyond comics. -He was known to embellish, and boast to boost his self-esteem.  -The marriage wasn’t a good one. Neighbors noted hearing heated arguments. -Beryl kept a messy house full of dirty diapers, and spoiled food -She wasn’t great with money either.  -but Tim was an abusive drunk who was having an affair with a 15 or 16 year old girl….so….   -Things got even worse for the Evans family, when Beryl found out she again, was pregnant.  -She immediately said she didn’t want to have the baby,  -that they couldn’t afford the added cost, and she couldn’t handle the stress. -Also, their relationship was shit   -but of course abortion wasn’t legal in London at the time.  -and anyway, Tim coming from a religious home, was staunchly against the idea.    -However, this didn’t stop Beryl from trying.  -popping mystery tablets, and attempted to douche  -Saying she’d rather die than have another baby.  On November 30th 1949 -Reg opened his front door to see three police officers struggling to pry up the drain cover underneath his front bay window.  -They asked when was the last time he saw Beryl Evans and her child…   -150 miles away, Timothy was in a jail cell in South Wales -The day before he had turned himself in, confessing to the murder of both his wife and young daughter.    -and what he admitted during interrogation does change a couple times -The first time detectives walked through his account -which they had to write down due to his inability to write -took almost two hours to tell.  -it was extremely detailed. Too detailed.  -That his 3 month pregnant wife had been injecting herself in the vagina with a strange mixture -when that didn’t work, was popping tablets.  -That she started looking ill. -When Beryl threatened to kill herself and this born child. -He didn’t believe she would follow through, so he went to work -During his deliveries, he claimed to have met a man at a diner, who gave him an abortion pill. -When he came home, he told Beryl the story.  -She found the pill while searching his pockets for a cigarette -The next day, Tim returned home from work to find her dead, on the bed.  -He fed the baby, waited up till 2AM, and slipped her body into the drain -went back upstairs and smoked a cigarette.    -Over the next few days, he “got the baby looked after”, quit his job, sold his furniture.  -He returned to his parents home, claiming that his wife and daughter were on holiday   -But this confession didn’t see right. He seemed detached.  -couldn’t follow up on details.    -and back at 10 Rillington Place, once the drain was finally pried open… -it smelled wet and rotten...but there was no bodies.    -Upon hearing the news, detectives pressed Tim again, whose story quickly changed.  -”I said that to protect a man named Christie” -”It’s not true about the man in the diner either I’ll tell you the truth now”.    -And this second statement...oooh it’s not good for Reg.   -A week before Beryl died, Red had Tim over for a chat.  -The pregnancy, and the pills came up, and Reg responded. -”If you or your wife had come to me in the first place, i could have done it for you without any risk.”   -Confused, Reg reassured Tim that he had learned a thing or two about practicing medicine in the war.  -that he had helped woman with unwanted pregnancies before.  -but that 1 in 10 women wouldn’t survive -After much discussion, the Evans had decided to take Reg up on his offer.  -The day of the procedure, Tim returned home from work, and was met by Reg at the base of the stairs. -”Go upstairs and i’ll follow behind” -On the bed, Beryl was wrapped in blankets, dead.  -Upon closer look, Tim noted: “I could see that she was dead and that she had been bleeding from the mouth and nose and that she had been bleeding from the bottom part” -Reg said that he would dispose of the body and would make arrangements for a couple from East Acton to look after Geraldine.    -The last time he saw Beryl, was Reg carrying her body down the stairs.    -a these conflicting statements would come to haunt Tim Evans -and Reg Christie    -During the investigation, the Christie’s were extremely helpful.  -Recalling the bickering, even a time that Beryl said Tim tried to strangle her. -that she wanted to leave, but was scared.    On December 2nd, 1949,  -Three days after Tim confessed, another search was conducted.  -The focus was washouse with a stuck lock, which Ethel helped open  -Inside, a woodpile walled in the corner of the sink. -Behind was a something wrapped almost like a package -A green tablecloth, wrapped around a blanket, tied tightly with a  thick cord.  -Behind the door was a much smaller package.  -Beryl and Gerildine were found.  -The cause of death for both was strangulation. -Beryl with an undetermined cord from behind -Gerildine still had a striped tie around her neck.   -When presented with this evidence, Tim’s statement changed again -He had strangled his wife because she was causing him to go into debt. “In a fit of temper i grabbed a piece of rope from a chair which i had brought home off my van and strangled her with it” -The baby was strangled because it wouldn’t stop crying.   -The details of his confession seemed to match the evidence, so when taken to trial that’s what the prosecution focused on.  -But remember, this confession was always dictated by someone other than himself -and signed without reading it. -There’s also the possibility of coercion, as he once mentioned being afraid the cops would rough him up if he didn’t say the right thing…   -but Tim had a history of violence -the stress of the pregnancy -the neighbors had heard them fighting  -Beryl had told Ethel Christie about the prior strangulation.    -10 days after the murder, Reg visited Dr Odess complaining of pain in the left lumbar muscles of his back. -saying it was caused not by stress, but by physical strain, having lifted something heavy. -The trail was set for January 11th, 1950. -Under british law, a suspect could only be tried for one murder at a time, -so senior counsel CHRISTMS HUMPHREYS figured that the strangulation of his would be a more likely conviction.   -The trial wasn’t covered much by the press. They dubbed it “fish and chippy” -A dull double-murder. -During the trial it was revealed that Beryl was indeed pregnant -16 weeks with a boy -Also more details of her condition.  -There was swelling on her right eye and mouth.  -her lip was actually touching her nose.  -She had bruising and scarring on the walls of her vagina  -most likely due to self inflicted abortion attempts.  -...it’s very likely that she was raped and this was overlooked by a medical examiner  -They neglected to take a vagina swab because they knew it was the husband.   -It came out in trail that Tim had an IQ of less than an Otis Toole -65, with a mental age of an 11-year-old.   -Tim withdrew his confession, saying that the 2nd was indeed the truth -that Reg Christie had killed his wife.  -but most everyone considered the story too wild to be true.   -The Christies were key witnesses for the prosecution, -denying everything and pointing to the dysfunctional relationship of their neighbors.  -I mean, how could the feeble Reg carry a body downstairs?   -The Defense tried to bring up Reg’s criminal past, but his redemption story was convincing.  -Although there was a handful of evidence that could have cleared Tim -a timecard, other witnesses,  it was all omitted -or never shown to the jury.    -The trial only lasted 3 days, and The jury took just forty minutes to convict him. -Reg wept at the verdict.    -On March 9th, 1950, Timothy Evans was hanged by the neck until dead. -If only police would have looked harder during that second search,  -maybe they would have found the two bodies buried in the small shared garden at 10 Rillington Place -possibly even the human femur being used to prop a portion of the fence up.    -At this point in preparing my report, it’s 4AM, and i’ve realized that even though I prefaced it all with a warning that I had maybe taken on too much for one episode -I continue to fuck myself by digging deeper into details -the opposite of what Reg did when disposing of two corpses that we’ll talk about in a minute.  -I might need to cut the fog talk even more… -which makes that extended A Christmas Story coal segway up top even less significant... -so I apologize, once again.  -Merry Christmas    (First Victim) -Ruth Fuerst  -a slender, short, dark haired, olive skinned woman with deep brown eyes shaped live ovals -had a tough life.    -She was Austrian, and in 1939, at 17 was separated from her parents -As a half-Jewish woman, she fled to while she still could. -A year later, she was forced into an internment camp on the Isle of Man -She was troubled over what happened to her parents -fearing they had died in the concentration camps -it was later discovered they had safely immigrated to New York City -She had a baby girl with a Greek waiter that was immediately given up for adoption.  -Ruth eventually found herself barely making ends meet in London. -She was bright, but shy, and bordered on depressed.  -Keeping jobs was a struggle as she had poor work ethic, was frequently absent -and would quit with short notice, -She could never seem to develop strong friendships, but appreciated male attention -She would frequent a place called David Griffin’s Refreshment Room -a place where she met a distinguished vetrean and war reserve police officer.  -in August of 1943.   -He became a frequent client of hers -and the two would have sex while he taking a break during patrol -Sometimes even at his home. -In late August, after expressing that she may want something more than just a sexual relationship with Reg, he welcomed her into his bed -later recalling “The poor girl did not dream she was walking into the room of her death”. -While they were having sex, things escilated. -He reached over and grabbed a piece of rope from the side of the bed -wrapped it around her neck, pulling tight, and killing ruth.  -Suddenly, there was a knock at the door -a boy passed Reg a note informing him that his wife, who was out of town visiting her bother -would be home soon.  -Reg pulled up the floorboard of his front room, and briefly hid the corpse underneath. -the next day, while his wife was out, he moved Ruth to the washhouse. -and that night, at around 10PM, he excused himself, telling his wife he had to use the bathroom -one that had shared between the entire building -but instead, he used this time away to dig a shallow grave in the shared garden -later commenting that the neighbors watched him digging -that they gave him nods and cheerios. The greeting not the cereal  -But Ruth wouldn’t be alone in that garden for long.   -While working at Ultra Electric Ltd, a factory in northwest London, Reg noticed her right away. -Muriel Amelia Eady -an assembly line worker who made plane parts during the war.   -He began working on his second victim almost immediately -asking her to have tea with him -When she responded with reluctance, he changed his invitation to tea at his home -with his wife. -They would become fast friends -and would frequent movies. -but Reg never stopped looking for a time to strike -In October, 1944 -as the smokey fog started sticking, he noticed Muriel’s persistent cough  “I have something that can cure that” -he said, elaborating that he had medical training from the war.  -She agreed to visit his home for treatment.    -Reg would consider this his “clever” murder. “Much cleverer than the first” -Using a mask, tubing, and a jar, he build a breathing treatment apparatus. -Punching two holes in the lid of the jar. -one for each tube. -the first led from the mask to the jar, which contained steaming water infused with Friar’s Balsam -the second tube was much longer, and connected to the gas pipe behind his stove.   -On October 7th, Muriel arrived for her appointment.  -She sat in the kitchen, and slipped on the mask -seemingly unaware of the second tube -a scarf was placed over her head to keep the steam around longer -and the gas was turned on. -Soon, she went unconscious. -Reg laid Murial on the bed,  -strangled her with her stockings -then raped her body -After a brief period on the washhouse -she joined Ruth in the garden. -Over the years, Reg lost track of where exactly the bodies were, -once he drove a shovel into the neck of a skeleton, separating Murial’s skull. -he threw it into a bombed out house nearby, where it was soon found by some kids   -His illness intensified and subsisted -usually getting worse around his acts of violence   -but in the winter of 1952, as one of the worst “pea-soupers” in London history rolled in -Reg Christie was planning on killing again.    -London has long suffered air quality issues -dating back to the 13th century -in 1257, in Nottingham, the burning of sea coal inside the castle filled it with a smoke so thick -that it forced Queen Eleanor to leave -fifteen years later, Edward the 1st banned it’s use -threatening to tortue and kill anyone who used it. -But citizens continued burning, even after someone was executed.  -They simply couldn’t afford wood to burn.   -The burning of this seacoal admits higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide.  -and in the 1600s, it was attributed to rickets that affected half of the populations children.   -During WWII however, London used their pollution problem to their advantage -creating a smokescreen to make targets harder to hit.   -After the war, the production of coal was one of the only profitable industries that England had to offer.  -but they didn’t keep the high quality coal for themselves.  -Instead they sold their citizens a mixture of powdered coal, peppered with nuggets called “Nutty Lack” -However inefficient: -creating less heat, and more smoke, -this is what Londoners burnt.   -During the colder months, they became accustomed to the frequent dense, stinking fogs -yellow, green clouds that became known as, again, “pea-soupers”    -But on December 4th, 1952, an huge anticyclone, that stretched from Spain to Germany -moved over a windless-london. -causing a temperature inversion -which happens to us quite often in the valley we live in.  -Cold air trapped below a lid of warm air.  -As temperatures dropped, factories continued pumping exhaust -and more and more coal was fed into furnaces across london -filling the city with a fog, dense with full of soot, sulfur, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide   -This event would last five days, take the lives of over 10,000 -sickening 100,000 more. -and again, if you want to know exactly what this experience was like -definitely grab a copy of Death in the Air -very descriptive account from many perspectives    -Nonetheless while this was happening...Reg had an epiphany…   -He didn’t very much like his job, his home...or his wife.  -On December 6th, he quit his decent job at the British Roads Services -saying he had lined up a better job in Sheffield -and that his wife didn’t feel safe in their neighborhood anymore -at the time, there was an influx of immigrants from the west indies  -and much like in the US at the time -everyone were disgusting racists -Landlords would hang signs on their buildings declaring “no coloreds”   -Recently a man named Charles Brown -Not that one, but an immigrant from Jamaica had purchased their building -and started allowing all renters.    -Reg disliked this cultural shift very much...  -The claimed the new tenets would laugh loudly and cook food that smelled disgusting.  -That the women would spit in the halls -Charlie accused the Christies of causing the conflict.  -Even more concerning, he was planning on excavating the garden to flatten it out.  -A lawyer was hired, and this paused Charlie’s plans.   -But there was no new job. -No move to Sheffeld planned -and a few days after the Great Smog of London lifted  -Ethel Christie was strangled with a stocking while she layed in her bed.  -She remained their for 3 days,  -the stocking still around her neck -a makeshift diaper beneath her -until Reg could no longer bear sleeping next to her   -With the garden near capacity, he again pulled up the floorboards -making this a more permanent hiding place.   -Before hammering the boards down, he took of her ring -and snipped off some of her public hairs as a memento.    -Over the next several days, Reg wrote letters to relatives saying she was too sick to write them for the Holidays  -but not to worry.  -He sent several gifts from “Ethel and Reg”   -Neighbors were told that Ethel had gone to Sheffield, and that he would follow shortly, -A smell was noticed, and Reg was seen sprinkling his house and garden with disinfectants   -In January, a still jobless Reg sold all the furniture in the flat, along with a watch, and his wife’s ring. -He forged her signature and emptied their bank account.  -Reg was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. -he had three chairs, and was using one as a table. -a serious case of the post holiday season blues   -While out one day, he bumped into a woman looking for a place to rent.  -He invited her to look at his place, but was disappointed when she showed up with her husband -Etherway, they agreed to take Reg’s place, and paid him 3 months rent in advance  -He euthanised his cat and dog -borrowed a suitcase from the couple, and moved on on March 20th.    -Not even one day after moving in, Charlie Brown informed this couple that they had no right to be there -and kicked them out.  -which money aside, they were happy to go. The place stunk.    -With the flat empty, the landlord allowed an upstairs tenant, Bresford Brown, to use their kitchen.  -Bresford quickly noticed the smell, and attempted to locate its source.  -While investigating, small remodeling plans were made. -he wanted to install some brackets on the wall for his radio -Tapping the wall, he discovered it was hollow.  -the door next to it was nailed shut -Thinking this was just an old coal cellar, he peeled back the wallpaper,  -and shined a light inside.   -Shocked by what he saw, the police were called.  -Between 19 January and 6 March 1953 had killed three women. -Behind that nailed door were their bodies. -All had been tired up, strangled, and raped, repeatedly -before and after death    -The gas tube technique had been used on all of them.   -Investigators also discovered the body of his wife when they noticed the loosened floorboards   -It was later determined that the unidentified victims were  -Kathleen Maloney, Rita Nelson, and Hectorina MacLennan    -Kathleen was a sexworker experiencing homelessness -She looked older than she was, and had troubles with alcohol.  -Several bars had banned her for obnoxious singing… -too much red wine -She called it a “jolly jump up” -But she didn’t have a great start to her life -She was orphaned at age 3, raised by nuns -Seemingly no one wanted anything to do with her -terribly sad. -Kathleen was lured in by Reg when they met at a fish and chips place -He wanted her for a photoshoot -something he did often with sex-workers -the morning after the murder, Reg stepped around her dead body -and made tea. -Rita, 6 months pregnant, stumbled into Reg’s trap while at a cafe -She asked him for cigarette. -He admitted to eavesdropping on a conversation she was having a friend -Rita was looking for a new flat, and Reg had one she might be interested in.  -She unfortunately had arrived alone.  -Reg claims to have filled the room with gas...but that doesn’t make sense, since he would have been gassed himself.  -However, she did black out -and shortly later was strangled so hard, it broke her neck. -She was only 25 -Hectorina -who was 27 at the time of her death -bounced between two relationships at the time -one with a married man, the other who was in prison -She was a vulnerable woman, struggling to survive in London -She met Reg outside of a movie theater, -he was offering to sublet his flat to her and her boyfriend -hours after Hectorina’s murder, her boyfriend showed up wondering where she was.  -Reg walked him through, room to room. -He left, finding nothing -Due to the small size of the flat, and it being empty, police found very little else inside.  -but on the second search, two days later -they made their way to the garden.  -There, they discovered burnt bone fragments in a bucket, that led them to excavate -Ruth and Muriel were finally found.  -in a pile of garbage in the garden, they found a tin that once held cough drops -Inside were four clumps of matted public hair -Momentos left behind.    -Now considered the main suspect, Reg was on the run...kinda. -He had gotten a bed at a hostel in central London, -paying for several days, using his real name. -Even though his name and face were on the front of all newspapers -He went to the movies -and Relaxed at cafes   -And 11 days after he left, on Tuesday March 31st, 1953, at 9:30AM -a police officer approached a disheveled Reg, watching a river barge being loaded.  -when asked for ID, he said he didn’t have any.   -The officer requested he remove his hat. -The bald head and glasses gave him away.    -In the pockets of his wrinkled raincoat was his ID,  -some coins,  -and old newspaper clipping about the trail of Timothy Evans,  -with details of the murders.   -When questioned, he did mention the four bodies -but referenced “something he couldn’t quite remember” -gaging if they had discovered the bodies in the garden   -at 10:45AM, Reg was charged with murder.    -The trial of John Reginald Halliday Christie began on Monday 22nd June 1953 in Court One of The Old Bailey -The same courtroom that Tim Evans was tried in….   -and again, that weird British rule, you can only be charged for one murder at a time -the selected victim was his wife, Ethel.  -Reg tried to plead insanity, but he was determined to have a hysterical personality  but was not insane -and honesty, i haven’t heard him say one funny thing yet...i don’t know where they got that ;)   -When insanity fell away, he settled into having a spotty memory of the events.  -After four days proceedings, it only took the july an hour and 20 minutes of deliberation.  -on Thursday June 25th 1953 -Reg was found guilty of murder.  -He did not appeal the conviction   -While awaiting execution, Reg spent his time playing dominos, and clipping out articles about himself.  -He willingly spoke of his crimes, revealing details of the murders to guards.  -a stark difference to how he spoke before his conviction -where he said he DID kill the women, but it wasn’t his fault.   -On the morning of July 15th, 1953 In the same execution chamber, and with the same executioner who had hung Tim Evans -a man who was eventually given a posthumous pardon for the murder of his wife and daughter -Reg stood -Hands tied behind his back, a noose around his neck.  -He refused last words and whiskey,  -but did mention to the hangman that the rope made his neck itch -he replied, “it won’t bother you for long”.  -The trap doors opened,  -Reg fell seven and a half feet before the rope caught him -dislocating his 3rd and 4th vertebrae -he was dead.    -His body was buried within the walls of the prison.   -and back to that tin of pubes real quick… -He claimed they belonged to the four victims found in the house on 10 Rillington Place -which was eventually flattened in 1978 -however...they only matched one.   -It’s very likely that Reg killed more people than what we know, -but no further attempts to identify victims have been made. -And similar to the visual of “the old man” disappearing into the black, coal smoke of a basement -if there is a hell, I hope Reg was forced to descend into it’s pits.  -May his back and belly ache forever.  -Merry Christmas, Kelly. -Merry Christmas, everyone!   

On this day in 1952, a toxic smog that killed thousands of people descended on London. Click here to learn more about the incident in an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class called "The Great London Smog."  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

It happened unexpectedly. The whole city was afraid. No one could see. Many could not breathe. And amid the terror of London's Great Smog of 1952, a different, equally sinister drama was underway. The London Smog killed an estimated 12,000 people. But those were not the only people who died in those dark days. Kate Winkler Dawson’s book, Death in the Air, tells two parallel stories of the Great Smog, both of which left victims choking.

Jenn is joined by Kim Ukura and Alice Burton, hosts of the For Real podcast, for a special nonfiction-themed episode! This episode is sponsored by Rebound by Kwame Johnson and the Bruno Johnson Series by David Putnam. Enter our mystery giveaway!   Questions 1. Hi there, This never-ending winter has me looking forward to the vacation I've planned for this June and I have visions of laying on the beach for days at a time with a good book. I'm not worried about being able to find good vacation reading material for myself, but my wife is a much pickier reader. Can you help me find a book that will keep her entertained so I can relax with my own book? She loves nonfiction and particularly enjoys heavy topics like the holocaust, dictatorships, and cults. Recent reads she has enjoyed include Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler and Without You, There is No Us: Undercover Amongst the Sons of North Korea's Elite by Suki Kim. I recently put The Road to Jonestown and Lilac Girls in her hands, but neither of those worked for her. Thanks in advance for your help! Best, --Brianna   2. I'm a single woman in my mid-30s and, while I am fine with my single status and enjoying my life as it is, almost all of my friends are partnering off and having children. I was feeling blue about it until I read Rebecca Traister's All the Single Ladies and Kate Bolick's Spinster, and am now looking for more reads that celebrate single women, especially single women without children. I'm looking specifically for books with female protagonists who get to enjoy a happy ending without being coupled off or having kids, or where the happy ending is not focused on coupledom (though it's fine if there's a relationship in the story). I read all fiction genres except horror and I also enjoy nonfiction, especially memoirs and biographies. Thanks in advance. I love the podcast! --Rebecca   3. Hi Amanda and Jenn! I just have to say y'all are the best, and I love this podcast so much. My to be read list grows every day (mostly because I just discovered this podcast so I am just binging my way through it :)) I have a request for a book for my boyfriend. He likes to read, but he's a really slow reader (this was my way of saying, he likes to read but doesn't read a lot, you know?), and we just moved in together and I noticed that almost all of his books are by straight white males. My new years resolution is to get him only books by...not straight white males. So. He likes fantasy and science fiction. (He loved the Name of the Wind, I think he liked Game of Thrones.) But I've already recommended him Octavia Butler, and N.K. Jemisin is on my to-read list. He also LOVES true crime and nonfiction/historical-ish books, like Devil in the White City. (I also already got him Killers of the Flower Moon before I made my resolution. Whoops.) Any recommendations are so welcome, in these genres or feel free to go crazy. Best, --Rachael   4. I've been feeling the inadequacy of my high school level American History education lately, as I've been listening to a lot of podcasts that have happened to bring up Asian American historical events that I realize I know very little about. I would like to brush up on my Asian American history in general but I don't know where to start. Do you have any nonfiction recs in this area, both in the overview theme and more specific and particular events and ethnic groups? Thank you much! --Rayne   5. I am getting very interested in language itself. This began with just loving novels with beautiful and pithy prose (so rec's in that vein are certainly welcome). Now I'm increasingly interested in linguistics and philology. While I'm so far fascinated by Steven Pinker's "The Language Instinct", I am hoping for books (nonfiction, memoirs, essay collections, or even novels) more welcoming to the lay linguist. For instance, Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue" is very much the sort of thing I'm hoping for more of, and I am currently working through and enamored by Jhumpa Lahiri's beautiful "In Other Words". So, where do I go when I finish that one? Thanks y'all! --Noah   6. Hi-ya! I am trying to be a less stupid white person. Recently I have read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahisi Coates, the March series by Congressman John Lewis, and the quite excellent satire, I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett. I loved them all, and would like to read more like them. I am planning to read more satires like Welcome to Braggsville, The Sellout, and Blackass, but are there other books on race that you can recommend, fiction or nonfiction? I would especially love some gems from the past that I may have missed, or something written by a woman! Many thanks!! --K   Books Discussed Not So Stories edited by David Thomas Moore Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson Bachelor Girl by Betsy Israel (trigger warning: discussion of rape) The Extra Woman by Joanna Scutts I Can Barely Take Care of Myself by Jen Kirkman The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America’s Greatest Unsolved Murder by Piu Eatwell The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee The Song Poet by Kao Kalia Yang Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People by Helen Zia “Stories of Your Life” from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson From #blacklivesmatter To Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

AJN editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks with Barbara J. Polivka about her article, which discusses the impact of the Great London Smog of 1952 on human health and subsequent pollution legislation—including the U.S. Clean Air Act—and its implications for nurses today, as dangerous air quality events continue and environmental regulations are increasingly under threat.

1952 post-war London was a city in the throes of tragedy. Thousands were sickened and killed from a great filthy smog that choked the city. In the meantime a serial killer named John Reginald Christie was lurking in Notting Hill, murdering multiple women over years and burying their bodies in his backyard, under floorboards and behind walls. Author Kate Winkler Dawson tells these two parallel stories and their ultimate repercussions for the country in her book "Death In the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands died as a thick polluted fog engulfed London in 1952. People with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions were most at risk. The smog was a combination of pollution from millions of coal home fires and freezing fog. Unusual atmospheric conditions trapped the pall over the city for four days. The civil disaster changed Britain. Two years later, the government passed the Clean Air Act to reduce the use of smoky fuels such as coal. Alex Last speaks to Dr Brian Commins, who worked for the Medical Research Council's Air Pollution Unit set up at St. Bartholomew's hospital in London in the 1950s. Photo: A London bus conductor is forced to walk ahead of his vehicle with a flare to guide it through the smog, 9th December 1952. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Thousands died as a thick polluted fog engulfed London in 1952. People with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions were most at risk. The smog was a combination of pollution from millions of coal home fires and freezing fog. Unusual atmospheric conditions trapped the pall over the city for four days. The civil disaster changed Britain. Two years later, the government passed the Clean Air Act to reduce the use of smoky fuels such as coal. Alex Last speaks to Dr Brian Commins, who worked for the Medical Research Council's Air Pollution Unit set up at St. Bartholomew's hospital in London in the 1950s. Photo: A London bus conductor is forced to walk ahead of his vehicle with a flare to guide it through the smog, 9th December 1952. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A real-life thriller in the vein of The Devil in the White City, Kate Winkler Dawson's debut Death in the Air is a gripping, historical narrative of a serial killer, an environmental disaster, and an iconic city struggling to regain its footing. In winter 1952, London automobiles and thousands of coal-burning hearths belched particulate matter into the air. But the smog that descended on December 5th of 1952 was different; it was a type that held the city hostage for five long days. Mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and 12,000 people died. That same month, there was another killer at large in London: John Reginald Christie, who murdered at least six women. In a braided narrative that draws on extensive interviews, never-before-published material, and archival research, Dawson captivatingly recounts the intersecting stories of the these two killers and their longstanding impact on modern history. DEATH IN THE AIR: The True Story of a Serial Killer, The Great London Smog, And The Strangling of A City-Kate Winkler Dawson

London is no stranger to smog, which is why when the Great London Smog descended in December of 1952, nobody quite realized anything unusual was going on. At its largest, it extended 30 kilometers around London, and it killed thousands of people. Read the show notes here. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

For centuries, Londoners had grown accustomed to "Pea-Soupers," thick ground fog that made travel and often walking or bicycling difficult. Following the changes that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, Londoners had also grown accustomed to having a little bit of dust and smoke mixed in with their fog. What they got on a cold December week in 1952 was thicker and more fatal than any man-made disaster before or since.

On 27 September 2013 the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its highly anticipated summary for policymakers, in advance of its fifth assessment report that will be published in early 2014. This special espisode of the podcast, explores briefly the origins of the organisation that produced this landmark report and, in more detail, the difficult international negotiations that have used the IPCCs findings since its inception. This historical overview ends with the question whether we can learn anything from previous problems of atmospheric pollution, in this case the Great London Smog and the ozone hole, to tackle global warming. The podcast concludes with a brief interview of historical climatologist Dagomar Degroot and his response to the summary of the fifth assessment report from the perspective of climate history. Dagomar is a PhD Candidate in environmental history at York University in Toronto, Canada. Music credits: Alice In the City by Doxent Zsigmond and Improvisation On Friday by Alex. Available from ccMixter. Forward by Northbound, available from Free Music Archive

In 1952, the worst smog in living memory descended over London, reducing visibility so badly that people could barely see a metre in front of them. Public transport came to a standstill, cinemas and theatres closed, and the weekend's football matches were cancelled. The pollution also caused the early deaths of around 5,000 Londoners and finally forced the government to tackle pollution. Witness speaks to Rosemary Merritt, whose father died in the smog. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Welcome to our first episode of Jekyll and Hyde! ______ You can hear the discussion on these links and book-only audio by starting a Premium Audio Membership. For only $5 a month you will be able to listen to a second book that's been curated CraftLit-style (sans crafty-chat). The fastest way to get the audio is via the .  (scroll down to episode #5). Stuff you Missed in History Class's episode on The Great London Smog ( / )   — Original Shownotes — Here's what I spoke of: , , Becky's for her Etsy, some REALLY good (spread the word), Bly's , , the article about the at the , (or ), and a sent in by Meg. Plus, here's what Mr. Stevenson looked like. Handsome Devil. Whoopie doo and a Happy New Year!

Urban air pollution is certainly not a new problem. During the Middle Ages the use of coal in cities such as London was beginning to increase. By the the 17th century the problems of urban air pollution are well documented. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries was based on the use of coal. In addition the burning of coal in homes for domestic heat pusehed urban air pollution levels further up with sometime disastrous results. The Great London Smog of 1952 resulted in around 4,000 extra deaths in the city, and led to the introduction of the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. The problems realated to air pollution, past and present, are well known but less known is the cultural history attached to air pollution. In this edition of Exploring Environmental History Stephen Mosley of Leeds Metropolitan Univeristy will explore how Victorians and Edwardians viewed air pollution and how they dealt with it. He also suggests that there is a continuation of perceptions of air pollution that links us with the Victorians.